LOL .. Always more to learn but Thank you for the support. The input is interesting to read and much appreciated. I'm thinking hard about some procedure that will work for everyone. Meaning, the guy tying in, the captain (he doesn't need to be chasing lift bags around the Atlantic ocean when there are gusting winds, waves and a boat full of divers who want to get in the water), and the customers.
We find that once the lift bag with the weight is sighted, we can pick up the bag and tie in to the shot line within a few quick minutes. Obviously that wouldn’t work if you just rely on the weight of the chain itself and don’t use an additional weight like we do.
(For the record, I’m in MA and agree that a SMB shot up the line on a ring could run into some difficulties)